Most HR professionals can attest that manual reference checking is time-consuming and can become a bottleneck in the recruitment process. First, there’s the inevitable phone tag, and even when we reach someone, finding the right time is tricky. If your referee is on the go, between meetings, or simply focused on business as usual, it can be hard to get a quality reference that truly informs your hiring decision. 

So, how do you get the most out of your reference checks? The answer may lie in online-reference checking, a solution that saves time, money and resources while leading to better quality references. Here’s why. 

Table of Contents

• Move fast to secure top talent
• Customize questions to uncover the insights you need
• Increase the quality of your references
• Get more than a reference checking template
• Collect references anytime, anywhere – not just on email
• Tap into off-market talent
• Know your references are genuine
• All your information in one place

1. Move fast to secure top talent

According to leading online reference checking platform Referoo, online references can be turned around in as little as 12 hours compared to an average of 3 business days for a manual process. 

In a competitive recruitment market, where top talent may have other offers on the table, this speed can be a significant advantage. In addition, it frees up your HR resources for more strategic activities.

2. Customize questions to uncover the insights you need

Online reference checking allows you to customise questions for each role to elicit the information you need to choose the right candidate. This means you can plan your questions, and you won’t be derailed when the referee says they only have ten minutes. 

Most of us ask the standard questions: What was the candidate’s performance like? Are they a team player? Would you rehire them? But these are usually tailored to past performance, which isn’t always the best indicator. 

Referoo says that the best references come from questions tailored to the specific job at hand. They suggest asking specific questions such as ‘This role involves significant attention to detail. How do you think the candidate will approach this?” 

3. Increase the quality of your references

Catching someone on the fly is never the best way to find out about your prospective hire. With online reference checking, the referee can complete the reference when and where it suits them – and on any device.  

This means you are getting the referee’s full attention, which will ultimately lead to more detailed and considered answers. Exactly what you need to make the best hiring decision. 

4. Get more than a reference checking template

Many organizations look to other manual solutions to increase efficiencies, such as templated reference checking documents. However, these do little to speed up all-important turnaround time and often don’t lead to quality references. 

It’s a clunky way to ask someone to complete a reference too. They either have to go old school and print it, fill it out and scan it back, or complete it in a Word doc, where formatting often doesn’t play ball. In addition, these documents tend to be challenging to complete on mobile or tablets, a no-no in today’s on-the-go and remote world. 

However, with the right online reference checking platform, you can easily create customized templates and then quickly tweak them for candidate and role specifics. So you get all the benefits, efficiency, simplicity, quality, and speed, without any of the hassle. 

5. Collect references anytime, anywhere – not just on email

While we have seen a rise in email reference checking, the reality is that this alone doesn’t cut it. With online reference checking, reference checks can be completed via email, phone or SMS so you can work the way you – and the referee – prefers. 

Having these options is important for all workers in today’s world of flexible hours and remote work. But when it comes to jobs that aren’t office based, such as health care, manufacturing or transport and logistics roles, it’s vital. 

In these industries, your referee isn’t behind a computer checking emails. They’re on a ward, a shop floor or on the tools, often working shift hours, so alternate methods, such as text recruiting, are critical in these contexts. 

6. Tap into off-market talent

Gaining a referee’s full attention doesn’t only lead to more quality references. It also allows you to ask about their own career moves while engagement is high.

This can give you access to a talent pool that may be largely untapped, a potential goldmine in today’s challenging market. In fact, your question might be the prompt for them to realize it is time for a move, and there is a fantastic opportunity to be the first employer they consider.

7. Know your references are genuine

According to Referoo, one in every 17 candidates has lied to get a job, and reference fraud is one of the main contributors. And it makes sense. How do you know the person on the other end of the phone is who they say they are? 

That’s why Referoo offers unrivalled fraud detection features. From IP Address Matching flagging when a candidate and referee have completed the process from the same location to certainty of identity through document and digital ID checks to biometric solutions, for when the stakes are high. 

8. All your information in one place

Online reference checking also helps you remain compliant, making it easy to store and access reference checks. There are no messy notes, no phone call records, just all the referee’s answers precisely as they phrased them, ready and available for easy review on your candidate profile.  

SmartRecruiters has recently introduced an integration between your ATS and the Referoo platform to make it even simpler. This partnership means SmartRecruiters clients get quality references, lightning-fast, directly to their ATS, fully integrated with their existing hiring process. All while saving time, money and resources.  

If your reference checks are causing a headache, contact Referoo to find out how best-in-breed online reference checking could be a game-changer. They’ll even throw in a full, unlimited 14-day free trial for SmartRecruiters users so you can see the platform in action for yourself. 

When it comes to recruitment and talent acquisition, it’s easy to do your due diligence. Why is it that so many companies fail to perform a simple background check?  You can Google candidates, you can use Facebook’s search graph to find candidates and you can check candidates out on LinkedIn.  In addition to background and reference checks there are candidate assessmentswhich can uncover some critical information which employers can use to locate and engagement a better talent pool.

Let’s talk about the importance of background and reference checks. Contrary to popular belief, performing checks on potential employees was not developed to screen candidates out, they were created to ensure the candidates meet all the proper standards and qualifications required to perform the job duties successfully. Over time as inconsistencies and irregularities were discovered in employees backgrounds, performance and attitudes, reference and background checks became a must.

Companies can save themselves a lot of embarrassment, heartache and money by simply using these powerful and relevant tools. Here are a couple of prime examples of epic background check failures.

Rutgers fired their Men’s Head Basketball Coach Mike Rice after allegations and video evidence showed he was abusive to his players. He’d kick them, punch them, yank them, and use homosexual slurs. When the allegations and video surfaced, the Athletic Director didn’t act on it right away. He tried to dismiss it and reprimand the coach but that wasn’t enough, so ultimately Rutgers fired the coach and the AD.

They swiftly hired Julie Hermann as the new AD, in an attempt to bring integrity based leadership to the program – except there was a problem. As soon as the announcement was made a slew of former student athletes who played Women’s Volleyball under Hermann many years ago came forward to report Hermann was just as nasty and malicious as Mike Rice. It seems Hermann has been accused of sex discrimination and using intimidation tactics.

And they hired Eddie Jordan as the new Men’s Head Basketball Coach and they thought he had graduated from Rutgers, but he hadn’t. Probably should have done a background check on both of them first!

The higher the title the more rigorous the background check should be but in actuality the more prominent the position, the less extensive the background checks are. Here’s a prime example. The ex-CEO for Yahoo, Scott Thompson misrepresented his Bachelor’s degree for years. It was exposed and the embarrassment cost Thompson his job. That’s when Yahoo! hired Marissa Mayer. Scott has since been hired as the CEO for ShopRun. At least they know what they are getting.

In closing there are a lot of background and reference check tools available. SmartRecruiters has just launched a new initiative titled “Start Hiring Smarter.” It’s an assessment center with behavior tools, skills tests and reference checks. Only if Yahoo! and Rutgers had such a service!

Chris Fields is an HR professional and leadership guy who also helps job seekers write great resumes. Photo Credit IZquotes.

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